


Crawling

by TauriCXIV



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Ardyn isn't a dick, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Blood, Hiding an injury, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Poison, hurt noct, light Ardynoct
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 04:11:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17399831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TauriCXIV/pseuds/TauriCXIV
Summary: Bad Things Happen Bingo: Hiding an InjuryIgnis stared at him, making Noctis self-conscious about the placement of his hands. He sat straighter and pushed the discomfort to the back of his mind. He couldn’t forget Ignis’ eyes shimmering with unshed tears, nor the way his hands had shaken when covered in Noctis’ blood. He wouldn’t give Ignis a reason to worry over him again.





	Crawling

**Anon prompted Hiding an Injury + Ardyn/Noctis**

* * *

The hunt was taken more out of necessity than desire. They’d run dangerously low on supplies and gil was almost non-existent. (Ignis had given them all a lecture on the importance of rationing and how they shouldn’t use curatives unless absolutely necessary.) It wasn’t meant to be a difficult hunt, all they had to do was stick to the plan.

Stick to the plan was easier said than done. The plan didn’t include being ambushed by reapertails. They were already tired from running around the desert all day, the last thing any of them needed was the eight reapertails that sprouted out of nowhere. How the hell did something that big manage to stay so stealthy?

Immediately, Prompto and Ignis were pushed away from Noctis and Gladio. They had all drawn their weapons when something much, much larger crawled from the nest.

Not a reapertail. A reaperking. _Shit_.

“Noct!” Ignis called to him from the other side of the wall of reapertails. “Can you keep the reaperking occupied?”

Noctis summoned the Engine Blade. “Sure thing,“ he said and launched into a warp.

Noctis landed a blindside strike, his blade cutting into the reaperking’s tough exoskeleton. The reaperkingleapt with far more agility than it had any right to, but Noctis was faster and warped out of its reach.

While Noctis kept the big bug distracted, Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio picked off the smaller ones. They had taken out three of them but the other five just seemed to get angrier. Noctis could feel himself wearing down. They needed to end this. Soon.

“Iggy! Look out!”

Prompto’s shout shattered Noctis’ focus. His eyes found Ignis across the battlefield, narrowly escaping the crushing claws of a reapertail. The distraction cost him.

“NOCT!” Gladio roared. The reaperking swiped at him, catching him in the midsection and tossing him like a sack of greens. Noctis hit the ground hard and rolled across the ground.  

When he stopped rolling, Noctis was on his side with dirt in his eyes and grass cuts along his arms. Something felt wrong on his side. It hurt when he breathed. Gods, he’d broken a rib, hadn’t he? Noctis didn’t have time to take full stock of his injuries because a reapertail appeared out of the scrub where he lay prone.

It clicked its claws in agitation.

Noctis summoned the Engine Blade to him just in time to block the pincers aimed at his face. His chest was in agony. He screamed. There was no way he’d be able to hold the reapertail back much longer. Then he saw it’s tail curl over its back. Its wicked looking stinger blocked out the sun. It struck him like lightning—a sucker-punch to the gut.

The Engine Blade fractured into crystal and vanished.

The reapertail pulled back its stinger and prepared a second strike. Noctis had nothing to block it. He was helpless.

The reapertail struck–

Gladio yanked him across the ground and tossed him with insulting ease away from the enemy. Noctis landed hard on his back, staring up at the peaceful blue sky while his mind slowly registered the hole in his abdomen—the one spilling blood across the dirt. Fire spread up his nerves, knocking the breath out of him. He felt like he was drowning but he couldn’t even gasp for air.

“Highness!” Ignis’ face appeared over him. “Stay with me.” Gloved hands pulled at his shirt, sticky with blood and a huge tear through it. Noctis didn’t see him summon the potion but he felt it wash over his wound in a cool wave.

Noctis lifted his head and saw the gruesome-looking puncture slowly stitch itself back together. He’d never seen curatives used on such a large wound before, it was almost more unsettling than having a giant gorey hole in his gut.

“Are you alright, Highness?” asked Ignis. His eyes were wide and shiny behind his spectacles like he were on the verge of tears, and the sight struck Noctis numb. Noctis couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Ignis cry. He’d always been so composed. His hands, Noctis saw, had a slight tremor to them, and his gloves were red with Noctis’ blood.

“Fine,” he said with much effort and tore his gaze away. Gladio and Prompto were finishing off the last of the reapertails. He could just barely pick out the smaller one that had stung him. Gladio’s sword had made easy work of slicing through its exoskeleton. Once the last reapertail fell in a heap at their feet, the two turned towards Noctis and Ignis.

Noctis got to his feet as gracefully as he could manage, which wasn’t very graceful judging by the way Ignis jumped to help him. Noctis waved him off. He needed to do it on his own, without wavering. He was stronger than a stupid reapertail.

“Noct, you still alive?” barked Gladio.

“Can’t get rid of me that easy.” Noctis flashed him a grin, but Gladio’s eyes hardened when they settled on his ruined shirt. Prompto was right behind him and did a double take when he saw Noctis.

“Whoa, you uh, you sure you’re alright there, buddy?”

“I’m fine.”

“What the hell were you thinking, letting yourself get distracted like that?” demanded Gladio as he stepped up to Noctis’ face and glared down at the prince. His hands twitched like he wanted to grab Noctis by the arm and shake the answer out of him.

Noctis didn’t need Gladio to tell him he’d messed up. The reapertail had been kind enough to inform him of that itself. He took a step back and looked away from his Shield. “Yeah, I made a mistake. I won’t do it again.”

Gladio didn’t seem satisfied, but Prompto cut in before he could scold Noctis further. “Can we get out of here? I’ve had enough creepy-crawlies for one day.”

“Agreed,” said Ignis, removing his gloves while he turned away from the others. “We’ve pushed ourselves enough as it is. We should camp and return to town first thing in the morning.”

As they were leaving, Noctis stole a glance back at the bodies of the reapertails. He could pick out the one that stung him with ease. It was smaller than the others and had a sickly yellow tint to it. Gladio had cleaved it clean down the middle.

They made it back to camp as dusk was settling in. Ignis whipped up something delicious as usual. Noctis watched Prompto and Gladio chat animatedly about something he’d lost track of. He felt a phantom twinge over the place the reapertail’s stinger had pierced him and kept running a hand over the spot.

“Are you alright, Noct?” Ignis was watching him intently.

“Fine,” he said automatically, but he could see the apprehension in Ignis’ eyes behind the firelight reflected in his glasses. “Just a little sore,” he added.

Ignis stared at him, making Noctis self-conscious about the placement of his hands. He sat straighter and pushed the discomfort to the back of his mind. He couldn’t forget Ignis’ eyes shimmering with unshed tears, nor the way his hands had shaken when covered in Noctis’ blood. He wouldn’t give Ignis a reason to worry over him again.

Prompto turned in first and Noctis had to stop himself from following immediately after. He was so tired but Ignis was still watching him for signs of weakness.

Only when Gladio stretched and declared, “I’m beat” did Noctis nod and follow him into the tent. Prompto was already snoring. Noctis took the space next to him, furthest from Ignis, and fell into a fitful sleep. 

* * *

Noctis woke up in cold sweat. For a moment he just laid there, taking in the dark tent and the softly snoring bodies next to him. When he turned over on his side, Noctis barely managed to swallow the pained groan that tried to escape him. He sat up slowly and lifted his shirt. In the dark tent, it was difficult to make out, but he could see the skin below his ribcage was strangely off color.

Biting his lip, Noctis stepped over Prompto crept around Gladio and Ignis’ sleeping forms. He counted himself lucky none of them stirred when he unzipped the front flap and crawled out of the tent.

The haven’s runes gave off a soft glow, not much light at all really, but it was enough to see the angry red flesh the size of his palm on his belly. The skin there was hot to the touch, and it ached something truly awful. It didn’t make sense. The wound should have been healed. It wasn’t there when he’d gone to bed. Noctis pressed a finger to the area, but it might as well have been a knife for the pain that shot like lightning through him.

Noctis’ knees gave out. He caught himself on his palms, and grit his teeth through the echoes of pain. The potion materialized into his hand and Noctis shattered it before he knew what he was doing.

The relief was instant. He let himself slump to the ground and rolled onto his side. He stayed that way for a while, just breathing and feeling the cold ground against his skin.

Noctis pulled his shirt back and found the wound had vanished, just like before. It appeared to be perfectly healed and the pain was gone. Maybe the potion he’d taken earlier was expired? Could that happen?

His brain didn’t want to work on that particular puzzle at the moment. Fatigue had set in again, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up under a warm blanket and shut his eyes.

Noctis crept back into the tent and over to his space. It was tough with his eyes still adjusting to the dark and he ended up hitting Prompto’s leg with his foot.

“…Noct?” came Prompto’s sleep-heavy voice.

“Yeah. Just had to take a leak,” he whispered back.

Prompto groaned. “TMI, dude,” he mumbled as he rolled over to face away from him, his breathing instantly evening out.

* * *

The hours passed slowly. Sleep was usually so easy for Noctis, but try as he might, he couldn’t force himself into a deep, satisfying rest. Every little thing pulled him out of unconsciousness—Prompto’s fidgeting, insects chirping, Gladio’s snoring, and a steadily growing discomfort in his midsection.

Morning finally came with Prompto’s cheerily calling his name and terrible cramping in his stomach. Noctis curled into himself on reflex and let out a pained moan. Prompto must have mistaken it for a protest because he laughed and shook his shoulder.

“Come on, Sleeping Beauty. If you don’t get up Gladio’s gonna eat your breakfast,” he said before leaving him alone again.

Noctis remained curled up on the floor. He rolled up his shirt, afraid of what he would see. The skin was red once again, and now black veins radiated out from the center. It looked worse than when he had healed it only a few hours ago.

What the hell? It didn’t make sense. He’d used two potions now and the wound was still there. How?

Noctis materialized another potion and broke it. The redness faded and the black veins receded, but this time the skin did not return to its normal color. He could still see the dark lines beneath the skin, and his stomach still ached.

He took a sharply inhaled breath.

Okay. Okay. The potions weren’t healing it. And each one he’d tried had been less effective than the last. But why? If it were an infection the potion should have been able to fix it. Reapertail venom was nothing, completely harmless. There was no way it had poisoned him. …Right?

But how else could he explain the returning wound? Or his burning skin? The black veins and horrible cramps? He thought back to the reapertail that had stung him. It had been smaller than the others and oddly colored. If it had poisoned him then an antidote would fix it.

Noctis reached out to summon an antidote, but there was nothing.

Oh, right. Ignis had said they were down on curitives. _Dammit_.

He could tell the guys he was hurt and possibly poisoned. He _should_ tell them. He’d have to be an idiot not to.

He took a breath, opened his mouth to call out to his friends… and didn’t make a sound.

So he was an idiot and a coward.

It’s fine, he told himself as he climbed into the Regalia and immediately shut his eyes to feign sleep. They’re going back to town. They’d get gil and gil meant he could get antidotes. And then he wouldn’t have to face Gladio’s disappointment, or Ignis’ guilt, or Prompto’s worry.

It’ll all be fine.

* * *

Noctis held it together until Ignis parked the car. The ride had been a trial. Gladio had huffed in annoyance at him almost immediately. “Out like a light.”

“Poor guy’s really tired, huh?” said Prompto.

“Understandable. Yesterday was a close call.”

“Too close,” said Gladio. Noctis could imagine him with his arms crossed staring at him with a disapproving glare. “Don’t know what was going on in that head of his. He’s better than that.”

Noctis rolled away from Gladio, pretending to shuffle in his sleep, and tried to ignore the pit of shame forming in his gut.

The whole way back to town Noctis had clenched his jaw and dug his nails into his palm to distract from the pain. He was sweating and cold, and every bump in the road turned his stomach. His mind wandered to the wound. What did it look like now? Had it begun to fester? Had his skin turned black and dead? When he finally cured the poison would he be left with a cavity of withered flesh and muscle for the rest of his life?

Finally, the car slowed down and came to a stop.

“Noct?” said Ignis.

“Still out,” came Gladio’s gravely reply before Noctis could muster the courage to open his eyes.

“Should we wake him up?” asked Prompto. His voice was soft as though he was afraid of disturbing Noctis’ imitation of rest. “He doesn’t look so good.”

Noctis froze. Did they know? Could they tell his injury hadn’t healed and he’d deliberately hidden it from them?  

“No, he doesn’t. I fear he may have come down with something. Best to let him rest. Turning in the bounty won’t take long.”

Noctis kept still while he listened to the others climb out of the car and walk away. All the while the voice in his head chastised him. _What are you doing? Go after them, you coward. What kind of a king are you supposed to be anyway? A dead one if you don’t get an antidote._

Noctis shot up and opened his eyes. Too late. The others were long gone. _Shit!_

He needed to catch up with them. Noctis stumbled out of the Regalia and down towards where he thought the guys had gone. The twist of his muscles sent shockwaves through him. The wound hurt. It hurt so much worse than it had in the night. It got worse with every step he took.

Which way was the hunter’s outpost? He couldn’t remember. He tried to read the signs, but his vision was blurred. The sun was high overhead, yet Noctis was shivering. He felt cold and hot at the same time.  His knees went weak and he had to catch himself against the side of a building. He sank to the ground. It hurt. He grasped at his stomach. Gods, he was going to die, wasn’t he?

A large shadow fell over him.

“Oh my, what have we here? Dear boy, you look positively dreadful.”

“Wha–?” Noctis squinted up at the dark figure standing over him. The man had wine, red hair and wore way too many ridiculous layers. Noctis recognized him instantly, he was impossible to forget. “You’re that guy. The guy from Galdin.”

The man clapped his hands together. “You remember me! That is an honor, truly. But where are those fine young friends of yours? They seemed so concerned for you the last time, hovering around you as they did. I thought the tattooed brute would take my head off the crime of merely for speaking to you. Surely they would be beside themselves to see you in such condition.”

He was right, the guys would lose their minds if they saw Noctis now, which was exactly what he’d been trying to avoid.

Noctis felt the man’s intense gaze on him, watching him shiver. “I take it they do not know, and for whatever reason, you have not sought fit to tell them. I won’t pry. But as you were so kind as to recall someone of as little consequence as myself, please, do allow me to repay your thoughtfulness by offering my assistance.”

The man’s cheery demeanor was at stark odds with the hot and cold roiling his veins. Noctis was having a hard time following his words, but he was offering to make the pain go away, and that was all Noctis wanted. Noctis opened his mouth to accept, but all that came out was a pained groan. He clutched at his midsection.

“I will take that as acquiescence,” said the man, and then Noctis was being lifted. He yelped in surprise as the man scooped him up in his arms and held him in a bridal carry. Noctis was suddenly so close to the man that he could see the flecks of gold in his amber eyes. The man smelled faintly of licorice and gasoline—a bit like Cid’s garage, but it was not an unpleasant scent.

“Apologies for my forwardness, but as you’re in no condition to walk and time is of the essence, I think it best that I carry you.”

“Yeah, okay. F-fine.”

The man gave an amused little chuckle. “That is what I admire so much in you. Even as you sit on death’s doorstep you maintain such insouciance, as only true royalty can.”

Noctis tensed. The man knew who he was, and he was carrying him while Noctis was injured and alone.

He must have noticed Noctis’ sudden apprehension. “Not to worry, Your Highness, you are perfectly safe with me. I’m not one to stand on ceremony, but such an occasion calls for an introduction. Please, call me Ardyn.”

It didn’t seem like Ardyn meant him harm, so Noctis relaxed and let himself be carried. Besides, he was already dying, how much worse could going with a stranger be?

Ardyn carried him to a dingy motel (though to be fair, all the motels around could be called dingy) and placed him on the bed. The coils screeched under Noctis’ weight. Noctis let himself collapse back on it, breathless, and stared up at the water-stained popcorn ceiling.

“Now, I’ll need to see what precisely is plaguing you,” said Ardyn as he came to sit beside him on the bed. Ardyn grasped the hem of his shirt and, without ceremony, pulled it up so roughly that Noctis was forced to raise his arms and allow Ardyn to remove it entirely. He would have blushed if he didn’t feel so dead already. Ardyn wasn’t looking at his face anyhow.

Noctis followed his strange amber gaze down to the wound.

The flesh had turned mottled black and the black veins radiated out from the center spider-webbing up to his chest. The sight of it froze the blood in Noctis’ veins. For a moment he couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t the scourge, he told the paranoid voice eating at the back of his mind. It wasn’t. He’d seen the scourge before. This was something else, but the black veins spreading like polluted rivers out from the wound still terrified him.

“That does indeed look unpleasant,” said Ardyn. He placed a cold hand against Noctis’ stomach, making Noctis whimper.  

“This is a strange poison. I haven’t seen something like this before. How did you come by such a wound?”

“Reapertail,” Noctis groaned.

“Hmm, very strange. Reapertail venom is not usually so potent. I suppose nature can be unpredictable in that way. Fortunately, I think I have just the thing.” Ardyn stood up and moved with a flurry of heavy fabric towards the small bathroom. He returned with a small glass jar filled with an off-white cream.

“This salve is better than any antidote you can buy. It will nullify the venom and repair the damaged tissue in no time.”

“You a doctor?” Noctis managed to stutter as Ardyn reclaimed his seat beside him.

Ardyn smiled and removed the lid of the jar. He scooped the cream onto his finger. “Nothing so proper as all that, but I am familiar with the human body and its… ailments.”

“–doesn’t sound sketchy at all.”

Ardyn laughed, “I assure you I know what I am doing. I’ve had a _lifetime_ of experience.”

Then Ardyn rubbed the ointment over the wound. Instantly, it numbed the pain and cooled the fire in his skin. Noctis felt it seep into him–into his very bones–leaving behind a pleasant tingle that made his toes curl. Noctis let out a deep breath and felt his body relax. He’d almost forgotten how nice not being in pain was.

“Feeling better?” asked Ardyn. His massive form hovered over Noctis. His amber eyes looked almost black in the low light and his hand was rubbing light circles over Noctis’ belly.

Noctis licked his lips. “Yeah.”

“This should heal quite nicely. Look. Already the color is returning.”

Noctis looked down to where Ardyn’s hand (his very large hand) was touching him. He mentally shook himself and focused on the flesh below Ardyn’s hand. It had almost healed completely and even as he watched it, Noctis could see the skin changing back to its normal color.  

“Oh.”

“Is that all? Or are there other places that require my _attention_?”

Noctis didn’t know how to answer that, and he found his eyelids suddenly very heavy. With the pain gone all he felt was exhaustion. He heard a chuckle fade into the distance.

He woke to someone gently touching his shoulder.

“Noct. No- _oct_. As much as I enjoy having you shirtless in my bed, I believe your friends are will be wondering where you’ve disappeared to. I think it best we return you to them before they become too anxious.”

Noctis opened his eyes to find he had rolled onto his side. Ardyn was still seated on the bed beside him, and Noctis found, with slowly dawning realization, that he had an iron grip on the man’s arm and was cradling it against his chest. He uncurled his fingers one by one and Ardyn shifted away. Not far, but enough to give him space.

“S’rry,” he said, his speech sleep-slurred. He was pleasantly warm despite his lack of shirt. Noctis looked down where the wound had been and found it completely gone and without a hint of inflammation.

“You fixed it. I– Thank you.”

“Not at all. It has been some time since I’ve had cause to utilize my healing talents. It was… nostalgic to say the least.”

“I gotta get going. The guys are going to kill me.”

“I should hope not. My healing is not so effective on the dead,” Ardyn joked as he handed Noctis his shirt. It struck Noctis that this was oddly like waking up from a one-night stand. (Except Noctis had never had a one-night stand, and he and Ardyn hadn’t done anything of that nature. He was definitely _not_ wondering what Ardyn looked like underneath all those layers. The man was old enough to be his father, for Six sake! It didn’t matter how distressingly attractive he was.)

Noctis’ face heated and he hoped his thoughts weren’t apparent.  He thanked Ardyn again and stumbled out of the motel room as quickly as possible.

Outside was dark, but the daemon floodlights hadn’t been turned on yet. It still meant he’d been gone for at least a couple hours and the guys would undoubtedly be looking for him.

It didn’t take long to make it back to the Regalia where Noctis found Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio waiting for him. Gladio was pacing back and forth, his fists clenched. Ignis had his phone out and was glaring down at it as if it had offended him. Prompto was sitting on the back of the Regalia, where Noctis sometime sat when the weather was nice and the road was empty, wringing his hands together.

It was Prompto who caught sight of him first. He sat up and pointed across the lot. “There he is! Noct!” Prompto jumped out of the Regalia and ran up to meet him. He slapped Noctis hard on the back. “Dude, where have you been? We were about to call up Cor and get a search party together.”

“You gave us quite a fright, Noct,” said Ignis with a frown as he approached.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry about that.”

Gladio pushed past Ignis. “That’s all you got to say? Where the hell were you?”

“I just… needed some time.”

“‘Some time?’” Gladio repeated incredulously. “You could have at least taken your phone with you. Let us know _before_ you disappeared for hours. This isn’t Insomnia, you know. You can’t just walk off every time you get moody.”

Oh, so that’s what Gladio thought this was? That Noctis just wandered away to brood like some edgy teenager? Noctis could feel his anger rising. He was about to launch into what was sure to be a long, drawn-out, and destructive argument with Gladio when he caught sight of Ignis studying him.

“You’re looking better,” Ignis said, but somehow that seemed to upset him. “Noct… Perhaps I am mistaken, but… you were very unwell before, weren’t you?”

“I…” There was no escaping Ignis’ keen gaze. Noctis couldn’t think of any way to explain what he’d done that didn’t make him sound like an idiot. His shoulders slumped and his anger was forgotten.

“I know I messed up yesterday.” Ignis and Gladio shared a look, and Prompto furrowed his brow, but no one said anything so Noctis kept talking. “I was stupid and let myself get distracted. I should have done better.”

“We all make mistakes, Noct,” said Ignis to comfort him, but Noctis could see his eyes go dark like he was replaying the scene in his mind.

Noctis shook his head, “I didn’t want to worry you more, so I kept it to myself.”

“Kept what to yourself?” Gladio asked, looking extremely unhappy.

“The reapertail. It uh, kinda poisoned me. And we were out of antidotes so I had to keep using potions to heal the sting, but it just kept getting worse and worse.”

“Whoa,” said Prompto. “So you got stung by some kind of mutant reapertail?! What are the odds of that? Man, you are _super_ unlucky.”

“I was going to tell you but I just– I couldn’t. It was my own stupid fault it happened in the first place.”

“Idiot,” Gladio growled. Noctis hung his head, waiting to be berated. He was shocked when large arms pulled him close and held him tight. “All we care about is keeping you in one piece. I don’t give a shit about how it happened, you get hurt, you tell us so we can put you back together.”

Ignis stepped up as Gladio released his hold, “Crude as Gladio’s sentiment might be, he is correct. Your wellbeing is our primary concern, both as your retainers and as your friends.” Ignis placed a hand on Noctis shoulder. “Nothing is more distressing than to know you did not trust us enough to tell us you were suffering.”

Prompto punched him in the arm. “Yeah, man. Very uncool. We’re here to have your back, but you gotta let us.”

Noctis felt tears well in his eyes. There was a lump in his throat he couldn’t speak around. He nodded.

“You _are_ better now, yes?” Ignis asked, scanning his form, looking for anything off.

“Yeah,” said Noctis, voice tight. “One Hundred percent. Just needed an antidote, is all.” He really hoped they weren’t going to ask why that had taken him hours to get. He didn’t want to explain about Ardyn and falling asleep half naked in the older man’s motel room. The thought brought heat to his cheeks.

“Good,” said Gladio with a smirk. “That means you can spar with me first thing in the morning. We can work on your form.”

“Uh, actually, I’ve decided I’m still a little weak. I need to get some sleep. Lots and lots of sleep.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr at [TauriCXIV!](https://tauricxiv.tumblr.com/)


End file.
